This is usually the kind of topic shared at Easter time, but I think it is a timely message to set the tone for a new year according to the Hebrew calendar, the year 5786 of course. I think it will be most interesting and introduce massive changes.
On this occasion, I want to draw your attention to something very unusual at the time when Jesus was arrested in the garden.
This was where the hardest thing that was ever done, the greatest pain that was ever known and the biggest battle that was ever won took place.
It was won totally alone by Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah without any assistance, including any support from the Father. He was silent.
Jesus could have called for the help of a minimum of 73440 angels, but He did not.
A Roman Legion comprised 6,000 soldiers accompanied by 120 horse mounted cavalry.
In Matthew 26:53, Jesus said that he could have called on them for help.
In 2 Kings 19:35, one angel slew 185,000 men!
Simple maths reveals that if Jesus had asked for such help, those angels were capable of slaying at least 13,586,400,000 people, more than the entire population of earth, estimated to be in excess of 8 billion people.
God knows what is ahead of us and had made good plans for us according to scriptures like Jeremiah 29:11. This is valid to those who are in covenant relationship with Him, but not necessarily to anyone else.
The Lord often reminds me of passages like Psalm 91and of how God locked Noah in the ark to preserve him and his family, of the plagues in Egypt before the Exodus when God’s people in Goshen were protected.
We are not immune from problems of course. Dear friends, Mary and Ernie who are doing a great job in the Philippines experienced property damage in their home and church in the wake of the tsunami following the recent earthquake and need both prayer support and practical help.
When I hear of people like them and others like Timothy in India and pastors in Kenya and other places, it reminds me that we are family and we all "feel it". It reminds us to ensure that our relationship with the Lord is in good order and be thankful that Jesus prayed for us in John chapter seventeen and continues to stand with us.
Sometimes in ministry, we may see people “slain in the spirit” in churches. It can be a controversial topic for some people, but I have no problems with it, providing it is “legitimate” and it is not something that is used to “measure” “success” or “anointing”. When we first started seeing this back in the ’70’s, it became a fad. People “wanted” to “fall down” and obviously draw attention to themselves. As is often the case, this phenomenon can be taken to the excess or totally ignored. It is evident that in some churches, such manifestations are actively promoted and expected, but this can open one up to abuse and excess. If such a thing happens, it happens and if not, it doesn’t matter, so it is best to merely “go with the flow”.
When this started to happen I asked the Lord what to do and how could I tell the genuine from the counterfeit. He said, “It is simple. Don’t have any catchers”.
Pastors in our modern society must be wise and careful in permitting such things, but if God is in it, there are no problems.
I will share one piece of advice before continuing. Sometimes “going down” is not desirable when you are praying for someone as in a prayer line in Church. When you lay hands on someone, you create a point of contact and I liken it to an electrical device being plugged into the power outlet. The “current” can flow to produce the desired result, but if the person receiving prayer falls, the “connection” is severed and the “full charge” is not received. Sometimes it is best to maintain the contact for as long as possible. There have been times when I felt something like an electric charge flowing through me that others can feel and when that happens, I have learned to maintain physical contact to let the thing keep “flowing” until it stops. When it stops—I stop.
I believe that this is the kind of thing that happened when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus. He “felt it”!
Of course, there are many other possible scenarios, ways to minister, ways to pray and so on. I am merely touching on the phenomena of “falling”.
We can now look at what happened in the garden.
At least six hundred men were knocked off their feet to fall flat on their backs simultaneously. This was an explosive discharge of power, if ever there was one. What was it? Where did it come from? How was it released?
Jesus had asked them what they wanted, or who they were looking for. When they replied that they were looking for Jesus. Most of them would most likely not have known Him. Judas did, but he was somewhere (possibly in front) of this bunch of men, late at night, with the only illumination by flickering torches, in what could have been a “spooky” place.
He replied, “I Am”.
The original language does not have the word “he” at all. In the King James version, it is in italics, that indicates it was added by the translators. Most times you see a word like that, it is not in the original and in many places, I have crossed that word out. It can change everything. It was when He said, “I Am” that this explosion of power happened.
The words used are ego eimi.
It was not the first time Jesus used this phrase to identify Himself.
He also used it in John 8:58 and John 13:19. When people heard those words ego eimi, they immediately recognised them as the very words God used to identify Himself when He spoke to Moses on Mount Horeb in Exodus 3:14.
Let’s look at John 8:58, where Jesus said-
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.
It does not even make good grammatical sense, but it’s meaning was so powerful, the Pharisees know what it meant and they couldn’t handle that! Jesus used these same words in John13:19, where, according to the Greek, it should read-
...Ye may believe that I Am!
The power vested in those words affirmed that I He is the Great “I Am” of the Old Testament. I have a web page called I Am...the convent names of God. You can see more on this amazing subject here.
When those soldiers wanted to know, “Who are you?” they probably expected him to answer, “Jesus of Nazareth”, but He replied “I Am!” and they went backward and fell to the ground. The words went backward come from the Greek word aperchomai.
This describes how the soldiers and temple guards went staggering and stumbling around like drunk men. I have experienced that myself and seen others struggling to hold their feet as if drunk. On the Day of Pentecost, something extraordinary had to have happened, causing witnesses to mock and wonder asking the question, “What meaneth this?”accusing them amongst other things of drunkenness and Peter replied, “No. We are not drunk. The hotels and bars are not open yet. This is what Joel prophesied about.” See the account in Acts 2:12-21.
Sometimes the supernatural of God hits us, even if it does not fall into line with our denominational belief structures and if we are totally honest with ourselves, this is how it did happen and how effective it was. I know that things can be taken to excess, but we simply cannot throw the baby out with the bath water. When God moved as He did in the days of the early Church, people came face to face with the supernatural of God. Most times the response is positive.
On other occasions, the overtures of God are rejected, but that’s how it is.
I cry for the day when men and women anywhere, will have the opportunity to have a “divine encounter” and know without any shadow of doubt that they have met God. We have so many different denominational groups, many with their own different sub-groups all peddling their own versions of “Christianity” but do good men and women, boys and girls know that they have had a moment in time when they encountered God? I hope so. He has not changed. His word has not altered. We want people to “join us”, to become part of our organisation or start coming to “our church” and whilst this is good and commendable, are they really coming face to face with a life changing relationship with the almighty? That’s the criteria.
If you want to wear a dog collar or a clerical garment, go ahead. If you want to have a good, liturgical order of service, go ahead. If you want to stand on your head and swing from chandeliers, go ahead.
The bottom line is your eternal destiny; your relationship with God and your encounters with Him. They are real, so please allow them to become real.
Those men fell backward, as if some force had forcibly hit them and pushed them backward. The word fell is the Greek word pipto, which means to fall. It was used often to depict a person who fell so hard, it appeared that he fell dead or fell like a corpse.
The verse adds they went backward and fell to the ground. The words to the ground are taken from the Greek word chamai, which depicts these soldiers falling abruptly and hitting the ground hard. Some force unexpectedly, suddenly, and forcefully knocked these troops and temple police flat!
If you stop and think about it, why would anyone send such a large contingent of armed and fully trained troops out to arrest twelve men (one man with eleven followers, because Judas was with the soldiers). Did they fear something? Did they have a sub-conscious feeling of some kind that they might be dealing with forces beyond their understanding? Think of it. Up to 600 Roman soldiers and a large number of trained temple guards had all come laden with weapons like spears, swords and clubs to help them capture one man.
When they said that they were searching for Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus answered them with the words, “I Am” — thus identifying Himself as the “I AM” of the Old Testament. When Jesus spoke those words, a great blast of God’s power was unleashed — so strong that it literally thrust the troops and police backward, causing them to stagger, wobble, and stumble as they hit the ground hard.
The mere words of Jesus were enough to overwhelm and overpower them! Why did He not simply walk away? He had proved that no force of any kind could touch Him. No demonic horde from the pit of hell could even look at Him without some reaction, but, after speaking two words, “I Am”, He waited patiently until they recovered to arrest Him.
He knew that this was part of the Father’s plan. He knew this when He was 12 years old!
He knew this when He prayed in the garden to see if there was some other way to achieve the Father’s objectives and they all embraced the redemption of mankind.
Please understand that no one took Him or could take Him. They tried before, but failed because it was not the right time. It was Jesus’ voluntary choice to go with the soldiers and He knew beforehand what would happen.
The Jesus we serve is powerful! There is no force that can resist His power. No sickness, financial turmoil, relational problems, political force, terrorism, natural disaster, famine, demons—absolutely nothing has enough power to resist the supernatural power of Jesus Christ!
When the Great “I AM” opens His mouth and speaks, every power that attempts to defy Him or His Word is pushed backward and shaken until it staggers, stumbles, and falls to the ground!
What is your need today? Why not present those needs to Jesus, the Great “I Am”? Let Him speak to your heart, directing you to His Word. Once you see the promise you need, get your mouth into agreement with His Word, and you, too, will see the power of God unleashed against the forces that try to defy you!
Be blessed,
Robert
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